AWOL with the Operative Read Free Page B

Redfeather had the skill to get them out of this steep descent once they were buried in the cloud mass.
    If the helicopter was swooping after them, Sam had no indication of it. At least there was no further gunfire from the chopper. None that he could detect anyway.
    Small comfort, Sam thought wryly, remembering his squad supervisor’s certainty. It looked like Frank Kowsloski had been right about Eve Warren. That she did know something vital enough for Victor DeMarco to want her taken down. In this case, literally .
    So much for a simple pickup and delivery. Squad supervisor or not, he was going to blister Frank when he got back. If he got back.
    A fog closed in on the plane, cloaking them with its thickness. Snowflakes swirled around them, adding to their cover. They were in the cloud mass.
    To Sam’s relief, Ken Redfeather pulled them out of the dive. They were flying level again. He searched through the windows on both sides. No sign of the chopper. They were safe. At least for the moment.
    “Where are we anyway?” he wanted to know.
    “On the border between British Columbia and Alberta,” Redfeather said.
    “Not anywhere near Calgary, I suppose, since we haven’t stopped for refueling.”
    “No, Calgary is still a long way off.”
    Sam checked on Eve. “You holding up?”
    “Just dandy,” she answered him dryly.
    He guessed that was all the reassurance he was going to get. He wasn’t going to ask for more. He’d had enough of her obstinate crap. Besides, he had another concern to address. He switched his attention back to Redfeather.
    “I don’t know about you, Ken, but I think it’s time you got on your radio and called out a distress. Let them know what’s happening up here.”
    “I’ll try, but I’m not sure I’m in range of one of the towers. Bush pilots have been complaining for years about the dead zones out here.” Redfeather reached for his mike. “Let’s see if I can reach—” He broke off, staring in alarm down at the instrument panel.
    “What is it? What’s wrong?”
    “The oil pressure is dropping—and dropping fast. One of those bullets must have struck a push rod tube, and now we’re leaking oil at the bottom of the cowling.”
    Great. Another freaking complication. “How bad is that?”
    “Real bad. You want it straight?”
    “Let’s have it.”
    “Without oil, the engine will lock up and quit. I’m surprised she hasn’t already—”
    There was a sudden, sickly sputtering. It was happening. The engine was seizing up. Sam heard a horrified gasp from the rear seat, and then there was nothing but a terrible stillness. The engine was dead.
    The plane drifted for a few seconds, and then Sam could feel it settling as it lost altitude on its descent through the cloud cover.
    “I’ll try to glide us in for a safe landing, folks, but it’ll be a miracle if there’s a clearing down there. Better make sure your belts are tight before you fold yourselves into a crash position.”
    Sam whirled around in his seat, barking a command at Eve. “Brace yourself! Head on your knees!”
    But she knew the drill. Her head was already lowered, face hidden against her knees. Sam risked a quick glance through the window. They had broken through the cloud mass. The ground was coming up on them swiftly. There was nothing down there resembling a clearing, only the dense, unbroken forest.
    Sam ducked down, straining against his belt to get his head on his knees. A few seconds later, they plowed into the forest. He could hear the undercarriage tearing apart as the plane, nose down, smashed through the limbs of the trees.
    The action jerked him up, slamming his head against the window on his side. He felt a sharp, shooting pain, and then everything went black.

Chapter 2
    F or a full moment after the plane came to rest Eve was too shaken to move. Then slowly, carefully, she lifted her head from her knees. Dazed. She was so dazed she was imagining she was tipped over at a crazy angle. That had